The Marco Simoncelli MotoGP Thread

Post by **Ataxia** » 01 Aug 2012, 14:20

Just in relation to the title of this thread, I went through Bristol the other day and saw a barber shop called Ciao 58!...I thought that was quite nice.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 01 Aug 2012, 14:46

BaconLettuceNinja wrote:Just in relation to the title of this thread, I went through Bristol the other day and saw a barber shop called Ciao 58!...I thought that was quite nice.

On a very loosely related note, in Edinburgh there is a store called "Villenueve Wines". It was named as such because one of the owner's first orders was from Gilles himself. The store is filled with GV related memorabillia. Makes Oddbins look s**t.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 02 Aug 2012, 03:47

I had absolutely no idea where to put this.

This is the list of wildcard entries for the 2005 Portuguese MotoGP race. Pay special attention to one of the names.

Post by **tommykl** » 02 Aug 2012, 05:45

eurobrun wrote:I had absolutely no idea where to put this.

This is the list of wildcard entries for the 2005 Portuguese MotoGP race. Pay special attention to one of the names.

Mind = Blown

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 11 Aug 2012, 11:31

The worst-kept secret in MotoGP has been confirmed.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 11 Aug 2012, 11:35

Wizzie wrote:The worst-kept secret in MotoGP has been confirmed.

inb4 he gets thrashed by Lorenzo, Rossi is way past his prime.

Post by **Ataxia** » 11 Aug 2012, 13:13

eurobrun wrote:
Wizzie wrote:The worst-kept secret in MotoGP has been confirmed.

inb4 he gets thrashed by Lorenzo, Rossi is way past his prime.

Which probably puts Crutchlow at Ducati, then.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 13 Aug 2012, 09:06

BaconLettuceNinja wrote:
eurobrun wrote:
Wizzie wrote:The worst-kept secret in MotoGP has been confirmed.

inb4 he gets thrashed by Lorenzo, Rossi is way past his prime.

Which probably puts Crutchlow at Ducati, then.

I agree, in fact the main reason Rossi left Yamaha is because he got in a strop when they allowed Lorenzo to race him as an equal and not treat Jorge
as a number two rider, when it was clear that Jorge was their star of the future. What Rossi has achieved in his career cannot be denied, but, much
like Schumacher, since he got into 500cc / MotoGp nearly always had the best bike and a not-so-good teammate. The one season that you can give
him credit for was the first year he left Honda and went to a previously-underperforming Yamaha and won the title first time out. But, when your
main rivals for years are Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau, and your teammates include Tohru Okawa, you've not had it that tough ...

I guess as Stoner will be gone and replaced by a rookie, even if he gets trounced by Lorenzo, Rossi will be on the podium fairly often, but expect the
moaning to start if Dovi stays at Tech-3 and beats Rossi regularly. Rossi won't mind racing the Hondas as I think people see Pedrosa as a good rider
but not a tough racer, and Marquez probably won't bee too aggressive until he's settled in. Oh, if only Marco Simoncelli was still with us ...

As for Cal, as I've said in previous posts, I don't rate him that highly - he'll have done well to get a factory ride, even if it is on the worst one available ...
Dovi has put Cal in his place this season, and I don't think Cal will be too happy if Bradley Smith is regularly ahead of him on his old bike next year ...

inchworm · Post by **inchworm** » 13 Aug 2012, 09:43

I don't think Rossi stropped off because of Lorenzo, although he didn't handle having a competitive team mate with much grace. I think he simply got bored. You can see it all through his career - gets bored of winning at Honda, turns mid-grid Yamaha into winners. Gets bored of winning at Yamaha, accidentally lets Nicky Hayden sneak a championship. Getting whooped by Stoner and Ducati the following year perks him up, and then the challenge of Lorenzo keeps him going. Then he gets bored again, breaks his leg and signs on with Ducati. For the first time, it's a challenge too far and rather than get bored of winning he gets bored of loosing. Back to Yamaha - we'll see how long that holds his attention...

Next year should be a good fight between the two Yamahas with Pedrosa turning up every now and again and Marquez learning the ropes (before becoming a serious title contender in 2014). At some point though Jorge is going get a bit bored after five or six years on the same bike, especially if he thinks Rossi's getting more attention.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 13 Aug 2012, 20:04

madmark1974 wrote:I agree, in fact the main reason Rossi left Yamaha is because he got in a strop when they allowed Lorenzo to race him as an equal and not treat Jorge as a number two rider, when it was clear that Jorge was their star of the future. What Rossi has achieved in his career cannot be denied, but, much
like Schumacher, since he got into 500cc / MotoGp nearly always had the best bike and a not-so-good teammate. The one season that you can give
him credit for was the first year he left Honda and went to a previously-underperforming Yamaha and won the title first time out. But, when your
main rivals for years are Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau, and your teammates include Tohru Okawa, you've not had it that tough ...

I guess as Stoner will be gone and replaced by a rookie, even if he gets trounced by Lorenzo, Rossi will be on the podium fairly often, but expect the
moaning to start if Dovi stays at Tech-3 and beats Rossi regularly. Rossi won't mind racing the Hondas as I think people see Pedrosa as a good rider
but not a tough racer, and Marquez probably won't bee too aggressive until he's settled in. Oh, if only Marco Simoncelli was still with us ...

As for Cal, as I've said in previous posts, I don't rate him that highly - he'll have done well to get a factory ride, even if it is on the worst one available ...
Dovi has put Cal in his place this season, and I don't think Cal will be too happy if Bradley Smith is regularly ahead of him on his old bike next year ...

You could say the same thing about Doohan then. All of his titles came once the period of Rainey, Schwantz, Gardener, etc was over, and once Mick had quit, Criville was effectively handed the 1999 title having been completely trounced previously. You'd have to say the same about Roberts Jr. in 2000, and so Rossi came into the premier class during a period where perhaps talent wasn't quite as widespread as perhaps it had once been. Yet even in that season he finished runner-up on a customer Honda, beat both factory riders, and wasn't far behind champion Roberts either. Compare that to any of the current crop of riders' debut seasons, and only Lorenzo comes close. A lot of people rate Stoner very highly, but he did nothing but crash that LCR Honda in his first season.

The way Rossi took the brand new RC211V in the 990cc era, beat everyone, and then went to Yamaha and carried it on told us everything we need to know about him. Biaggi wasn't a bad rider, he finished runner-up in his debut season in 99, but on the Yamaha he was crap and as soon as Rossi sat on it and started winning, it showed the gulf between the two. Similarly, Gibernau was another top rider, he took a satellite Honda to places that haven't been seen since with the exception of Simoncelli, and even then Sete was far more consistent and able to take the fight to Rossi, but still Valentino came out on top.

I think it's unfair on Gibernau, Biaggi, and to some extent Melandri and others to say that they were of a poor standard in comparison to Rossi. He certainly didn't have it easy, and 2006 is a classic example of that. He fought back like a demon to stay in the title fight that year, and only just lost out to Hayden that time.

Anyway, back to the present time. Rossi going back to Yamaha does surprise me, his feud with Lorenzo was well-publicised, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were effectively two separate teams next year. I think a three-bike team would be too much of a stretch for Yamaha, they haven't had a title sponsor since Rossi left, and Japanese bike sales still aren't improving that much, but it would be great if they did manage to get another factory bike onto the grid. Having Rossi back in the team will almost certainly secure them some more sponsorship for next year though. Maybe an arrangement in the vein of the factory Ducati team from World Superbikes in 2001 where they had two factory bikes for Bayliss and Xaus sponsored by Infostrada, and then the additional bike for Ben Bostrom sponsored by L+M? Only here Rossi would effectively have his own team and would therefore attract his own sponsorship to fund the venture, and sidestep having to work with Lorenzo again? That is something I'd like to see. Anything to get more prototypes on the grid!

Crutchlow must be a shoe-in for the Ducati seat now, but I think it would be a foolish move for him. He's not bad, but is already starting to get regularly beaten by Dovizioso. I think Andrea would be a good shout for Ducati, as an Italian rider to replace Rossi, but I can't see Tech 3 having an all-British line-up at a French team!

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 13 Aug 2012, 21:27

AndreaModa wrote:... I can't see Tech 3 having an all-British line-up at a French team!

Ligier circa 1993 would like to have a word with you.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 13 Aug 2012, 22:00

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:... I can't see Tech 3 having an all-British line-up at a French team!

Ligier circa 1993 would like to have a word with you.

To be fair, they did at least have Eric Bernard as test driver.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 14 Aug 2012, 06:09

kostas22 wrote:
BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:... I can't see Tech 3 having an all-British line-up at a French team!

Ligier circa 1993 would like to have a word with you.

To be fair, they did at least have Eric Bernard as test driver.

It would be a massive mistake by Tech 3 to give Smith the ride, his Moto2 results have not been good enough.

inchworm · Post by **inchworm** » 14 Aug 2012, 08:09

agreed - but i think smith's a done deal. He signed for moto2 then motogp on the same contract.

Can't wait to see Scott Redding in motogp though!

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 14 Aug 2012, 11:21

kostas22 wrote:
BlindCaveSalamander wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:... I can't see Tech 3 having an all-British line-up at a French team!

Ligier circa 1993 would like to have a word with you.

To be fair, they did at least have Eric Bernard as test driver.

And replaced Brundell with two French guys - Panis and Bernard - for 1994...

pasta_maldonado · Post by **pasta_maldonado** » 14 Aug 2012, 11:59

AndreaModa wrote:... I can't see Tech 3 having an all-British line-up at a French team!

BlindCaveSalamander wrote: Ligier circa 1993 would like to have a word with you.

kostas22 wrote:To be fair, they did at least have Eric Bernard as test driver.

dr-baker wrote:And replaced Brundell with two French guys - Panis and Bernard - for 1994...

But Bernard was shite, so they replaced him with Herbert, who didn't do much, who was replaced with Franck Lagorce who was also shite. And all 4 drivers still scored 10 points less than Brundell.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 14 Aug 2012, 12:00

pasta_maldonado wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:... I can't see Tech 3 having an all-British line-up at a French team!

BlindCaveSalamander wrote: Ligier circa 1993 would like to have a word with you.

kostas22 wrote:To be fair, they did at least have Eric Bernard as test driver.

dr-baker wrote:And replaced Brundell with two French guys - Panis and Bernard - for 1994...

But Bernard was shite, so they replaced him with Herbert, who didn't do much, who was replaced with Franck Lagorce who was also shite. And all 4 drivers still scored 10 points less than Brundell.

We're not contesting their quality. We're contesting their Frenchness. Doesn't matter Bernard and Lagorce were shite, they were French, and that's all that matters.. . 8-)

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 14 Aug 2012, 19:44

eurobrun wrote:It would be a massive mistake by Tech 3 to give Smith the ride, his Moto2 results have not been good enough.

You have to bear in mind however that he's been on what is clearly one of the poorer chassis on the grid, developed by Tech 3 themselves, when in reality the best ones to be riding are a Suter or a Kalex frame. Also, it's only Smith and Simeon that are actually riding Tech 3 chassis when the other constructors are represented by many more entries, thus ensuring far more technical feedback and data with which to improve. Considering he's 7th in the championship and has scored points at every round, I think he's done a good job on an inferior bike.

inchworm wrote:agreed - but i think smith's a done deal. He signed for moto2 then motogp on the same contract.

Can't wait to see Scott Redding in motogp though!

Spot on, Smith is guaranteed a seat at Tech 3 in MotoGP next year. He could have moved up this season, but decided to have a further year in Moto2. Redding made the same decision, and I agree I'm really looking forward to seeing how he does if he's able to find a good seat, hopefully not on a shitty CRT bike which will only ruin his career.

Post by **Londoner** » 18 Aug 2012, 08:37

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101813

Make of this what you will. There's this fellow by the name of Michael Schumacher that Rossi might want to have a word with.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 18 Aug 2012, 12:02

East Londoner wrote:http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101813

Make of this what you will. There's this fellow by the name of Michael Schumacher that Rossi might want to have a word with.

I can always be wrong, but I feel Rossi will be beaten senseless (metaphorically speaking, of course) by Lorenzo. The Ducati might not have been the best bike, but I can't help but feel a younger Rossi would have won races with it. His time might well be over.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 18 Aug 2012, 15:27

Phoenix wrote:
East Londoner wrote:http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101813

Make of this what you will. There's this fellow by the name of Michael Schumacher that Rossi might want to have a word with.

I can always be wrong, but I feel Rossi will be beaten senseless (metaphorically speaking, of course) by Lorenzo. The Ducati might not have been the best bike, but I can't help but feel a younger Rossi would have won races with it. His time might well be over.

But the fact is, Rossi finished on the podium in the last 3 races of 2010, one of which was a race win, and all the time nursing a busted shoulder. After switching to Ducati and returning to full fitness, he couldn't get the bike in the top 10 during testing, and that was 18 months ago. The Yamaha, thanks to his development, is a very good bike, but a championship challenge is likely to be out of the question, although it would be brilliant to see. He'll definitely be a regular podium visitor and a challenger for race wins though.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 18 Aug 2012, 15:42

AndreaModa wrote:
Phoenix wrote:
East Londoner wrote:http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101813

Make of this what you will. There's this fellow by the name of Michael Schumacher that Rossi might want to have a word with.

I can always be wrong, but I feel Rossi will be beaten senseless (metaphorically speaking, of course) by Lorenzo. The Ducati might not have been the best bike, but I can't help but feel a younger Rossi would have won races with it. His time might well be over.

But the fact is, Rossi finished on the podium in the last 3 races of 2010, one of which was a race win, and all the time nursing a busted shoulder. After switching to Ducati and returning to full fitness, he couldn't get the bike in the top 10 during testing, and that was 18 months ago. The Yamaha, thanks to his development, is a very good bike, but a championship challenge is likely to be out of the question, although it would be brilliant to see. He'll definitely be a regular podium visitor and a challenger for race wins though.

Podiums, I can see. But a championship challenge is sort of unlikely.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 18 Aug 2012, 17:16

I agree, it's going to be a long shot, but you have to ask, who will be the main contenders anyway? With Stoner pulling out, Lorenzo will be the clear favourite, Pedrosa will pull his usual trick of getting injured or just being crap, Marquez will need a season to get used to the bike and team so I doubt he'll be consistent enough, and Ducati will be nowhere as usual. That then leaves Rossi.

I think the main order will probably read Lorenzo out front, Rossi second, with an occasional challenge from Pedrosa, followed by Marquez and then the rest of the prototypes. It's Lorenzo's to loose really.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 21 Aug 2012, 21:53

Dovi lets the cat our of the bag... AGAIN!

FMecha · Post by **FMecha** » 22 Aug 2012, 14:01

Is it just me, or is Rossi worthy of "hang up the keys"? :roll:

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 13 Sep 2012, 08:42

And what is Ben Spies doing?

His move to Pramac doesn't make a lot of sense. I can only guess he couldn't find a decent enough ride in WSBK and didn't want to go back to AMA ...

So that's pretty much all of the prototype rides sorted for next year - it's been a busy time for the contracts guys, roughly half the riders are changing bikes.

Repsol Honda

Pedrosa stays
Marquez new

Yamaha

Lorenzo stays
Rossi new

Ducati

Hayden stays - is this confirmed?
Dovi new

Tech 3 Yamaha

Crutchlow stays
Smith new

Gresini Honda

Bautista stays?

LCR Honda

Bradl stays?

Pramac Ducati

Spies new
Iannone new

Cardion Ducati

Karel Abraham - unless he runs out of money ...

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 13 Sep 2012, 08:56

madmark1974 wrote:
Cardion Ducati

Karel Abraham - unless he runs out of money ...

I am fairly sure Abraham won't be returning to a factory bike, and if the team returns I heard it is most likely to be on an Aprilia CRT.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 13 Sep 2012, 09:03

eurobrun wrote:
madmark1974 wrote:
Cardion Ducati

Karel Abraham - unless he runs out of money ...

I am fairly sure Abraham won't be returning to a factory bike, and if the team returns I heard it is most likely to be on an Aprilia CRT.

Could well be right, maybe that's why there will now be two Pramac Ducatis next year. Don't really hear enough about Abraham to know exactly what he's doing ...

EDIT : Did a little digging and found this story :

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Sep/120910b.htm

Apparently Abraham is off the Ducati without some kind of legal intervention, and Bautista may not be safe for 2013 yet.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 13 Sep 2012, 09:42

Hayden is confirmed on a factory Ducati, and I'm pretty sure you're right about Bautista being under threat. He's done very little on what is a good bike to deserve to remain where he is. Bradl will definitely get another year, he's one to watch for the future in my opinion.

It's such a shame that there aren't more prototype bikes on the grid, but there we go. Suzuki are a pretty much done deal to return in 2014, so that should help grid numbers. I hope they don't chicken out and just build a CRT bike.

I'm interested to see how Rea does in these couple of races on the Repsol Honda, if he's able to get onto the pace of Pedrosa quickly it will say a lot about the modern bikes, their electronics, and just how easy they are to ride.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 13 Sep 2012, 09:52

AndreaModa wrote:Hayden is confirmed on a factory Ducati, and I'm pretty sure you're right about Bautista being under threat. He's done very little on what is a good bike to deserve to remain where he is. Bradl will definitely get another year, he's one to watch for the future in my opinion.

It's such a shame that there aren't more prototype bikes on the grid, but there we go. Suzuki are a pretty much done deal to return in 2014, so that should help grid numbers. I hope they don't chicken out and just build a CRT bike.

I'm interested to see how Rea does in these couple of races on the Repsol Honda, if he's able to get onto the pace of Pedrosa quickly it will say a lot about the modern bikes, their electronics, and just how easy they are to ride.

I am predicting that Rea will be about on the pace of the non factory Hondas.

Post by **Ataxia** » 13 Sep 2012, 10:24

If I was Gresini, I'd rather have De Puniet than Bautista...Scott Redding might a good bet though.

Ben Spies' move makes a bit of sense, it gives him the chance to string some confidence back together as 2012 at Yamaha's not gone swimmingly. Barbera's usually around the 9th/10th mark in the races, so Spies should at least manage results a little better than that.

Karel Abraham confuses me. He was quite good last year, but his results this year have been largely disappointing. Cardion will probably go down the CRT route, I would imagine...

Warren Hughes · Post by **Warren Hughes** » 16 Sep 2012, 13:09

LORENZOWINSLOL

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 16 Sep 2012, 18:02

Interesting race, and very good for Rossi and his fans at what is his home race. Bautista did well to take his first ever podium, hard to believe really but thinking about it Suzuki were never even close to achieving that last year. Pedrosa suffered his usual misfortune, but that just levels him with Lorenzo really after Jorge was taken out at Assen. Rea did a decent job on the factory Honda considering he did more laps in the dry in the race than he'd done for the entire weekend up until that point. It'll be good to see him grow in confidence at Aragon.

Abraham demonstrated his ineptitude and exactly why he doesn't deserve to be in MotoGP, let alone a prototype bike. Cardion have confirmed they'll be running an Aprillia CRT next year, but I don't think anyone else is stepping up to run a customer Ducati so it'll just be the two run by Pramac it seems. Apparently there are rumours going about though that both Gresini and LCR are looking at running additional prototype Hondas next year though so if that comes to fruition that'll boost the prototype grid nicely.

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 16 Sep 2012, 19:53

Does prototype bikes count for the standings, or do teams run them so they can test next year's bike...

Nice podium from Rossi there.

Warren Hughes · Post by **Warren Hughes** » 16 Sep 2012, 19:53

I don't often watch them from lights to flag, but if that was an interesting race then I guess MotoGP isn't the sport for me. Yes we had unusual results but apart from the first and last laps the race itself was dull, dull, dull (in my opinion of course).

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 16 Sep 2012, 19:55

Warren Hughes wrote:I don't often watch them from lights to flag, but if that was an interesting race then I guess MotoGP isn't the sport for me. Yes we had unusual results but apart from the first and last laps the race itself was dull, dull, dull (in my opinion of course).

Where I live they barely advertise the sport so I don't usually watch the races live, if at all...

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 16 Sep 2012, 20:59

JeremyMcClean wrote:Does prototype bikes count for the standings, or do teams run them so they can test next year's bike...

No, when people say prototypes in MotoGP, they mean the ordinary MotoGP bikes. The term is only being used more widely now because of the CRT bikes which use (amongst other things) engines that are virtually the same as those in ordinary road-going bikes, just modified slightly and produced separately. Hence they are very similar to the specification of bikes used in World Superbikes, and other Superbike-category series, and as they have parts that are available to Joe Public, are therefore not "prototypes" which are one-off machines. F1 cars are prototypes in the same respect, i.e. they haven't been mass-produced and you can't go out and buy one!

So in MotoGP, the "prototype" bikes are the factory Hondas, Yamahas and Ducatis, the Tech 3 Yamahas, Bautista's Gresini Honda, Bradl's LCR Honda, the Pramac Ducati, and Abraham's Ducati. Hope that clears it up for you!

Warren Hughes wrote:I don't often watch them from lights to flag, but if that was an interesting race then I guess MotoGP isn't the sport for me. Yes we had unusual results but apart from the first and last laps the race itself was dull, dull, dull (in my opinion of course).

No I agree, there was very little in the way of on-track action after the first couple of laps, with the exception of Bautista coming through the midfield towards the end. Sadly these days that's often what MotoGP is reduced to - strung out fields with gaps of 3 or 4 seconds between bikes, offering very little action and often appearing very dull. The tyres are too durable these days, and the electronics make riding the bike ridiculously easy.

You may have heard Jonny Rea talking about how he knows he isn't at the limit of pushing the factory Honda, but actually reaching that limit causes a huge conflict in his brain - having the restraint to believe that just cranking the throttle open is wrong, but also knowing that, thanks to the electronics, its entirely possible to do so and remain on the bike. This is why Stoner has been successful, because his style of riding is to just wring the bike's neck to within an inch of its life. On an ordinary bike with no electronic aids he'd be down the road before he even tipped it into a corner, but with the ECUs the prototype bikes run these days, the riders can just open the throttle and not have to worry. The skill of bike control has been almost completely removed from the sport, and it's a real shame.

It's demonstrated by just how far the bikes are leant over in corners these days. You go back 15 years and it required a completely different style of riding to be able to stay on the bike. Look at the bikes through the corners, they aren't leant over anything like as much as they are these days. Another way of comparing it is watching how the bikes are ridden in the wet compared to the dry. Today, with traction control and throttle management systems the riders can tip the bikes right over, open the throttle on the exit of the corner still leant over, and the bike will very rarely spin up and spit the rider off. When it does it results in a nasty high-side crash like this. Because of the improved electronics, the riders take more risks, so that when it does go wrong and they crash, the results tend to be worse, with injuries being far more common.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 17 Sep 2012, 09:12

AndreaModa wrote:Abraham demonstrated his ineptitude and exactly why he doesn't deserve to be in MotoGP, let alone a prototype bike. Cardion have confirmed they'll be running an Aprillia CRT next year, but I don't think anyone else is stepping up to run a customer Ducati so it'll just be the two run by Pramac it seems.

When you look at his junior category results you have to wonder how he got anywhere near MotoGP in the first place.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 17 Sep 2012, 10:01

Interestingly enough, Bautista's podium means he has nearly done better than Marco did in his 1st season on that bike. Sic didn't achieve a podium in his 1st season, and only actually
managed 2 in his incomplete 2nd season. Bautista only needs 7 more points to overhaul Marco's 1st season points tally. I guess this shows the difference between 'slow and steady' and
'fast but unstable' riding - he may not be spectacular, but has now overtaken Bradl as 'best of the rest' Honda in the championship.

To go back to Warren Hughes' opinion of the racing on offer, at present I have to agree Motogp is pretty dull - really there are only 4 riders in with a chance of victory anyway, and when
one of those is injured, and the other is having a bad time of it, and then the other one crashes out on Lap 1 of the race, there's not going to be much interest left in the race for the win.
It's just a shame there was no other real racing for position either, with the exception of the two customer Hondas - if Cruthlow hadn't dumped it again there may have been more of a battle
for 3rd. I must admit I watched most of the race at 4x playback speed - I'd never do that with an F1 race, and I've been watching Motogp since the Barry Sheene days ... Hopefully, with all the
swapping about of riders next season there will be a lot more racing action. What is really needed is for Ducati to become closer to the other manufacturers.

Post by **Ataxia** » 17 Sep 2012, 10:24

eurobrun wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:Abraham demonstrated his ineptitude and exactly why he doesn't deserve to be in MotoGP, let alone a prototype bike. Cardion have confirmed they'll be running an Aprillia CRT next year, but I don't think anyone else is stepping up to run a customer Ducati so it'll just be the two run by Pramac it seems.

When you look at his junior category results you have to wonder how he got anywhere near MotoGP in the first place.

Because Pops owns the Cardion AB team...